William O. Harbach

Bill Harbach
Harbach and wife Barbara, Winter 1998 photograph by Lucian Capehart
Born	William Otto Harbach (1919-10-12) October 12, 1919 (age 97) New York City, New York, U.S.
Residence	Fairfield, Connecticut Palm Beach, Florida
Nationality	American
Other names	Bill, Billy
Alma mater	Choate Rosemary Hall Hun School of Princeton Brown University The Neighborhood Playhouse
Occupation	Television Producer, Director, Author
Known for	Producer of the original The Tonight Show The Hollywood Palace and other award-winning series and specials
Spouse(s)	Laurie (Dougie) Douglas (1948 - 1951) Fay Caulkins Palmer (1954 - 1973) Barbara Schmid Vought (1981 - present)

William Otto "Bill" Harbach (born October 12, 1919) is an American television producer, director and author. In his television career, spanning the years 1951 through 1979, he won multiple awards, including four Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award Following his years in television, Harbach continued to produce and direct special events, including eight ASCAP celebrations for renowned composers, lyricists and librettists. He is the son of American lyricist, librettist and ASCAP co-founder Otto Abels Harbach.

Born on October 12, 1919 to Otto Abels Harbach and Ella Smith Dougal Harbach, William Otto Harbach began life in New York City. His brother Robert (Bob) was born in February, 1921. The Harbach family moved to Mamaroneck, New York when he was six years old. Otto Harbach had a well-established career by the time his sons were born. Known as the "Dean of American Librettists," the elder Harbach set records on Broadway and penned such immortal tunes as Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.

Harbach attended the Horace Mann School's kindergarten before the family moved to Mamaroneck, where he briefly had an elementary education in the public school system. Plagued with undiagnosed dyslexia, Harbach then continued his education at Pelham Day School. He spent five years at the Choate School (now Choate Rosemary Hall) where he first encountered people who would later become part of his personal and professional life, including John F. Kennedy and Alan Jay Lerner. Following his years at Choate, Harbach spent one year preparing for college at the Hun School of Princeton, after which he was accepted at Brown University. He spent one year at Brown before enlisting in the Coast Guard. In the Spring of 1946, after his military service, he was a student at The Neighborhood Playhouse.

After a long, on-again-off-again courtship, Harbach married John Robert Powers model Laurie ("Dougie") Douglas in February, 1948. They divorced amicably in 1951. In 1954, he married Fay Palmer, with whom he had two daughters, Lisa and Pamela. The couple divorced amicably in 1973. After a three-year courtship, Harbach and Barbara Vought married in 1981 and they remain married to this day, splitting their time between homes in Fairfield, Connecticut and Palm Beach, Florida. Harbach has two stepdaughters, Leslie and Tori.